Page 46 - Packaging News Magazine Nov-Dec2020

46 DECADES IN REVIEW | PKN 60 YEARS SPECIAL
The rise of consumerism
Packaging technology continues to develop at a rapid pace, the consumer’s voice grows stronger, and pollution emerges as a key industry issue.
1970
◆ More signs of rationalisation of Australia’s packaging industry. The trend is predicted to continue throughout the 1970s.
◆ A report states that more than 400 million cans of food and beverage with aluminium easy-open ends were produced in Australia in 1969.
◆ Containers Ltd opens phase one of what is set to be Australia’s largest can-making centre in Melbourne.
◆ Packaging pollution and packaging waste are emerging issues. Food and drink packs are to bear anti-litter messages within the next 12 months at the instigation of Keep Australia Beautiful.
◆ Beer is sold in all-aluminium cans in Australia for the first time. SA Breweries begins marketing a new ring pull two-piece can supplied by Comalco.
◆ Call is made for food packaging standards in Australia, as the country is relying on overseas regulations and standards.
1971
◆ Do wine corks face extinction? The traditional wine bottle cork now has another rival in the Australian wine industry. The alu- minium Stelcap is a roll-on closure, the closure thread being formed on the
as easier to stack and water resistant.
◆ CanMakers produces its first million cans in its first year of production.
◆ Pollution issues continue to come to the fore. Coca-Cola Bottlers Sydney is actively examining all processes within the plant and operation to establish methods of recy- cling materials and pollution control.
◆ The Australian aerosol industry is boom- ing. Precision Valve, which entered the mar- ket five years prior, opens a new manufac- turing plant at Revesby, NSW specialising in aerosol valve manufacture.
1973
◆ Committee to look into packager pollution tax... The Minister for Environment Control announces the establishment of a committee to investigate packaging waste pollution.
◆ Use of plastics by the packaging industry continues to grow impressively, with a reported increase of almost 21 per cent dur- ing 1972.
◆ A new child-proof spray-through cap/ actuator for 211 diameter metal cans becomes available in Australia.
◆ Now: the rip-off cap for stubbies... a selec- tion of beer stubbies fitted with a new alu- minium rip-cap is marketed. (The same style bottle and closure is still used today by the Bundaberg Brewed Drinks.)
1974
◆ Easy-pour spout for cartons hits the mar- ket: Pak Pacific Corp obtains the licence to market Seal Spouts.
◆ Comalco opens new $7.5m cold mill for aluminium to meet demands of the packag- ing market. Comalco’s annual production is at 370 million cans, mainly for the beverage market.
◆ Victorian legislation on tamper-proofing for supermarket products drives innovation. A tamper-proof plastic vial is introduced by Rheem Packaging Division that is ‘positively pilfer proof’.
◆ The National Packaging Association reports that recycling is already at a high level, comparing favourably with recycling levels overseas: paper (26 per cent), glass (50 per cent), aluminium (43 per cent) and steel (25 per cent)
◆ A new seal developed by 3M, called the Scotch Closure, is said to reduce customer returns of containers due to cap pop off, package leakages and cap back off.
◆ Containers Ltd commits $12 million for the construction of two can lines for produc- ing the Sheerwall can, a two-piece can with no side seams that is significantly lighter than the conventional can.
◆ Bad press: the packaging industry is hit by Choice Magazine, which complains about the confusing proliferation of brands in the cosmetics sector and toilet tissue mar- kets, saying too much choice is as bad as too little. The article recommends standardis- ing of sizes and unit pricing of products.
1975
◆ Australia’s first automatic bottle packer which handles square, rectangular and round bottles is introduced. The Blitzpack
bottle during the capping operation.
◆ Consumer Convenience becomes the food packager’s main aim, leading to an increase in plastic for table-ready salads, fruit squashes and laminates of plastics, paper, and aluminium foil for increased
70s
shelf life.
◆ The first Jiffy bag is made in Australia
1972
PACKAGING’S TV DEBUT
In the early 1970s, packaging companies ‘auditioned’ their packs for colour TV, to see if the colour translated well on screen. Poor performers then had time to change before starring in colour TV commercials.
www.packagingnews.com.au | November–December 2020
◆ AworldfirsthasbeenachievedbyCarlton Brewery in Melbourne, which has released a new 26oz steel can with ring pull easy- open end.
◆ Tips for developing packaging for the Asian market start to filter into articles, pointing to the importance of understand- ing the social and cultural environment of the target market.
◆ Waximpregnatedcartonscreatearevolu- tion in the fruit and veggie area, promoted